Phase change materials are known in the art and include compounds formed from germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb), and tellurium (Te), which are known as GST materials. The phase change material is capable of being reversibly electrically switched between an amorphous state and a crystalline state. The phase change material is electrically writable and erasable and has been used in electronic memory applications. When the phase change material is in the amorphous state, it is said to be “reset,” while the phase change material is said to be “set” in the crystalline state. Phase change materials have been used in phase change random access memory (PCRAM) devices to provide non-volatile memory with long data retention. PCRAM devices rely on the electrically bistable status of resistance differences between the amorphous and crystalline states of the phase change material.
One GST material conventionally used in PCRAM devices is Ge2Sb2Te5. However, during fabrication of the PCRAM device, the GST material exhibits a low adhesion to a dielectric material upon which the GST material is formed. The dielectric material includes silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx). In other words, the GST material, as deposited on the dielectric material, tends to delaminate or peel away from the dielectric material during the fabrication process. It would be desirable to form a phase change material having improved adhesion to the dielectric material in devices utilizing phase change materials.